Tickets to the Dalai Lama's two talks sold out almost as soon as WestConn offered them to the public. All 3,500 seats at the O'Neill Center on the university's Westside campus will be filled each day.

But there are alternatives to hear the Dalai Lama speak.

WestConn will broadcast a live feed of the Dalai Lama's two talks into the 750-seat Ives Concert Hall at the university's Midtown campus. There is no charge and the public is invited. Seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis, school officials said.

That's in part because people can view the Dalai Lama in the comfort of their own home, dorm room or work cubicle by going to www.wcsudalailama.org for a live webcast. Later each day, the videos will be posted on YouTube.

At least one area school, Wooster School in Danbury, is holding its own Dalai Lama event.

The DNKL Center was instrumental in bringing the Dalai Lama to WestConn. The monks also arranged to have the live feed of the Dalai Lama's talk on Friday sent to Wooster.

Gilson said the students -- plus parents, faculty and guests -- are excited about the chance to hear the Dalai Lama speak.

"We will have 500 seats,'' she said. "You wouldn't believe how much interest there is in this.''

Gilson said the PeaceJam students have visited the center in Redding. In turn, the monks attended the PeaceJam conference at the University of Connecticut in 2012 when Nobel laureate Betty Williams of Northern Ireland spoke.